NASBP Focal Point – October 6, 2022

NASBP delivers comment letter 

This week, NASBP submitted a comment letter to the General Services Administration (GSA) in support of implementing regulations to remove the Miller Act from periodic inflation adjustments. Legislative text was included in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2022 that removes the Miller Act from periodic threshold increases based on inflation. This issue has been a top legislative priority for NASBP for more than a decade and was championed by House Small Business Committee Chairwoman Nydia Velazquez (D-NY-7).

Senate prepared to address NDAA

While the Senate will begin debate on National Defense Authorization Act (FY 2023) next week, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has indicated that debate over final amendments and bill passage will not occur until after the mid-term elections. In the meantime, NASBP and several members of the Construction Industry Procurement Coalition (CIPC) (AGC, ASA, SMACNA, and WCOE) lobbied those Senate members who serve on the Armed Services Committee concerning the important policy reasons for retaining Section 870 included in the House NDAA, which requires federal procuring agencies to make interim partial payments to small construction prime contractors for unilateral changes in construction contracts. Section 870 was legislatively introduced as H.R. 8273, the “Small Business Payment for Performance Act of 2022 (Peters/Stauber). Last week, CIPC delivered a letter to the Senate/House Armed Services Chairs/Ranking Members seeking support of Section 870 in the final NDAA conference report.

CIPC delivers letter to reauthorize WRDA 

Last week, CIPC sent a letter to the Chairs/Ranking Members of the Committees on House Transportation & Infrastructure and Environment & Public Works stressing the importance of reauthoring the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), which is set to expire at the end of 2022. As compared to previous WRDA reauthorizations, which occur on a two-year cycle, WRDA 2022 is narrower in scope, addressing only USACE projects and feasibility studies.

GSA policy addresses inflation 

On September 12, 2022, GSA signed a policy document aimed at addressing inflation. The policy is applicable to all GSA contracting activities and provides the acquisition workforce with tools and strategies to mitigate the impact of inflation in GSA contracts. The policy:

• Provides considerations for use of an Economic Price Adjustment (EPA) clause; 
• Emphasizes the importance of speed; and  
• Speaks to the potential benefits of using shorter contracts. For your reference, several EPA clause templates, are accessible here.

Mark your calendar–IN PERSON Federal Legislative fly-in, March 29/30

For the first time in over two years, an in-person fly-in is scheduled for March 29 and 30. March 29 will include an opening reception at the host hotel Kimpton The George, just a few blocks from the nation’s capitol. Capitol Hill meetings will occur throughout the day on March 30 and will be arranged for attendees by an outside consultant. Registration for the hotel and the fly-in will be announced soon. For more information or questions about the fly-in program, especially for potential first-time attendees, please feel free to contact lleclair@nasbp.org. or Government Relations Chair, Monica Donatelli at Monica.Donatelli@imacorp.com.